ABSTRACT
The reasons for the growing friction between Turkey and Uzbekistan are manifold, although central to that tension was that the two states seldom avoided the role incompatibilities that came to constitute their relationship. Karimov took issue with the pan-Turkic ideals promoted by Özal as well as the implied leadership role in which the Turkish government was positioning itself. The Turkish government nevertheless reached out to Central Asia by establishing the Turkish International Development Agency in January 1992. More than Turkic solidarity however, the government of Uzbekistan was keen on securing its international recognition, and on obtaining economic investment. Uzbekistani-Turkish relations never fully recovered from the 1999 crisis. Karimov showed little if any inclination to deepen the political relationship, and as the Turkish Justice and Welfare Party came to power in 2002, the relationship hardly progressed. In addition to the underlying role incompatibilities, the relationship was once more put to the test in the aftermath of the May 2005 Andijan crisis.
